In the late autumn afternoon, the golden wind is fine, in the back garden of Xingyuan Mansion, in a shore pavilion shaded by green trees, Zhao Hong is looking at a lake of green water.

The willows on the shore are still clinging, the birds are chirping on the high branches, a breeze blows, the lake is sparkling, the microwave is spreading, and the reflection of the buildings and trees is shaking, and the scenery is beautiful.

It's just that no one in the pavilion pays attention to these at the moment, everyone is looking at Zhao Hong's back, cautious, and thinking differently.

Finally, Zhao Hong turned his head and sat on the chair in the pavilion, his face calm, as if nothing had happened.

Only his slightly trembling hands revealed the anger in his heart.

Under the hard work, the anti-corruption yamen followed up, and corruption continued, and this time it was also popularized in the army.

Taozhou controlled Yang Dayuan, deducted the salaries and grains of the soldiers of the Tibetan tribe under his subordinates, and privately laid off the soldiers to eat empty salaries, totaling more than 50,000 yuan; The encroachment on the fertile land of the local people amounted to more than 200 hectares.

Yang Dayuan's elder brother, Yang Daquan, also served as the commander of Zhangye County on Hexi Road. Moreover, the two Yang brothers have special identities, not only the local wealthy families of the Tianshui Army, but also the friends of Cao Youwen, who is in charge of Cao Youwen in Xixia Road and Cao Youwan in Lizhou East Road.

Xu Zihui, the grandson of Xu Xuan, the secretary of Dali Temple, the general of Xingyuan Mansion on Lizhou East Road, the grain and grass official of Jinzhou, and a graduate of the first phase of Jinling School. In just two years in office, there have been tens of thousands of traitors of all kinds.

Wang Kui, the commander of the Lizhou East Road, guarded Yangzhou, and also arbitrarily deducted the salaries of soldiers and soldiers, and stole and sold ordnance and armor to the Jin State, which amounted to more than 100,000 yuan.

Xu Zihui said that Wang Kui and Yang Dayuan are both border generals, and their subordinates are thousands of soldiers. At this time, it was on the eve of the war with the Mongol army, and it was indeed a headache for such a thing to happen.

In the past, it was civilian officials who were greedy for ink, but now it has spread to the military.

Moreover, they are all generals who are in direct contact with the salary.

"Lu Wende, Cao Youwen brothers, as well as Yu Jue and Wang Jian, the commanders of the border army, have they violated the law?"

Thinking of Lu Wende's greed for ink and cronyism in history, Zhao Hong subconsciously asked.

If something happens to these border generals, then this future big war will be ......

Zhao Hong's face sank unconsciously.

Everyone has desires, and corruption cannot be eradicated. But what shocked him was that now that we were still in the era of war, the army had already begun to corrupt.

Aren't they afraid that the law is strict, the military law is ruthless, and the head of the army is lost?

"Your Majesty has a lot of rewards and advice, Yu Yu and Cao You have nothing to do, and they often help the soldiers and people under their command, and they have a very high prestige in the army."

Seeing Zhao Hong's gaze, the cold was pressing, and Zhou Ping hurriedly continued.

"Lu Wende just collects small things, such as wine, meat, tea, etc., but it is only a few hundred, and he can't save face when he thinks about it. Cao Youwan privately promoted generals in the army, although he did not accept bribes, but cronyism was extremely harmful. Wang Kui, the commander of Yangzhou, had been removed from his post for embezzlement of military salaries, and after two years, he was mentioned by Cao Youwan again, making a big mistake. As for Wang Jian, he married two more concubines, and nothing has been found out yet. ”

Zhou Ping's words made Zhao Hong's brows stretch slightly.

All along, he used high rank and generous gifts to reward officials and generals for their merits and prevent them from corruption. Now, it seems, it still worked.

As for the corruption of officials and generals, no one is perfect, and each is not ordinary. He can't ask all generals to be like Fan Zhong and Yu Jue, with the world in mind and the people's livelihood. But you can't break the law, that's the bottom line.

"That Wang Kui, how did you find out?"

Zhao Hong asked curiously.

Speaking of which, he seldom asks about the specific personnel of the Intelligence Department and how they do things, and he has no time to ask questions. For Zhou Ping, he is relieved.

His eldest son, Zhao Quan, and Zhou Ping's nephew, are now seven years old, studying in Zishantang, and may go to Jinling Jiangwutang in the future. If nothing else, he will be promoted to the crown prince and take over his class in the future.

And the Zhou family will also be rich and glorious, and the power will be monstrous.

"Your Majesty, my 40,000-strong army is going to be deployed in Yangzhou, and the armor, weapons, firearms, grain and grass must be checked. Wang Kui's generous efforts on weekdays have already attracted the attention of the Intelligence Department. As soon as His Majesty came to Hanzhong, Wang Kui knew that he was going to show his horse's feet, so he fled in advance. Some people saw that he was fleeing from the meridian road, and thought that he would either reduce the gold or vote for Tatars. ”

Zhou Ping was a little embarrassed. Although the corruption of the generals was found, this guy still escaped.

"Your Majesty, now that the great war is imminent, it may not be long before the Tatar army will go south to engage our army. In order to avoid the unstable morale of the army, it is better to wait for the war to deal with all the things that commit adultery and criminals. The officials involved in the case sent people to keep an eye on them, and they were not afraid that they would escape. ”

Zhang Jin, director of the Sichuan Anti-Corruption Department, persuaded softly on the side.

Dealing with generals before the war, and they are all high-ranking officers, I am afraid that it will cause panic in the hearts of the people and even affect the situation of the war.

"Your Majesty, Cao Youwan is the commander of Lizhou East Road, his brother Cao Youwen is the commander of Xixia Road, and his two brothers are all over the northwest border. It's not as good as Zhang Jin said, appease the morale of the army, and wait until after the war to deal with Cao Youwan and others. ”

Zhou Ping was also following softly persuading.

If Lu Wende and Cao Youwan are replaced due to trivial matters, it is inevitable that the army will be discouraged.

"Don't worry. Lu Wende and Wang Jian, I'll knock them up. As for Cao Youwan and the other three generals who committed crimes, they must be severely punished. You don't want to think about it, your mind is all on making money, can you still fight and command soldiers? ”

Lu Wende and Wang Jian are still just making a small fuss, and they are not guilty of a big crime, maybe they don't realize it. Knocking in time to alert them is the best way to do it at the moment.

As for Cao Youwan, Wang Kui has been removed from his post because of his greed for ink, and he was promoted because of Cao Youwan. He really didn't believe it, Cao Youwan didn't know anything about it.

Zhao Hong glanced at Zhou Ping and nodded appreciatively.

"Your anti-corruption division has done a good job. Punish the former and the latter, treat the sick and save people. You must investigate and punish those who are greedy for ink in accordance with the law and prevent these things from happening. ”

The intelligence department has contributed to the investigation so carefully.

I don't know, what happened to those lurkers in the Northland?

"Your Majesty, as the saying goes, wealth is not exposed. The money was distributed by the imperial court to the various divisions, and then to the commanders. The salary is issued once every three months, and one time is 70,000 or 80,000 yuan, who is not tempted? If the money is sent directly to the soldiers and their families, it may not be easy for the generals to be greedy for ink. ”

Dong Songchen whispered on the side.

The money was sent directly to the soldiers and their families!

Zhao Hong looked at Dong Songchen, and after a moment of surprise, he laughed.

Not only can the money be paid directly to the soldiers and their families, but the same is true for the officials. In this way, it is much more difficult for huge greed like Hu Yu and Wang Kui to be greedy for ink.

Banks, isn't that the solution to everything?

The authorities are obsessed, why did they forget the bank!

But is now the time to think about the bank?

"Your Majesty, Cao Youwan and Chen Longzhi are here with Wang Shixian himself."

"Your Majesty, Cao Youwen, Lu Wende and Yu Jue have all arrived."

The guards came in one after another to report, and Zhao Hong couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

This Wang Shixian, the commander of the First Army and the leader of the "traitorous pursuit of glory", actually came to meet him in person, which shows the sincerity of this person.

"The criminal minister Wang Shixian, with the two dogs, see my Great Song Emperor!"

Wang Shixian took his two young sons and knelt down to salute together, his face full of shock and surprise.

Obviously, he didn't expect that sending his two sons into the Song realm as hostages turned out to be personally received by the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty.

The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty personally came to the northwest border, and it seemed that he was going to personally sit in the town and fight with the Tatar army.

"Get up. Wang Shixian, you have read poetry and books, deeply immersed in Chinese culture, and are already my Chinese people. This time, I am sincere to my Great Song, the heart of the fist, I am very pleased, and I will not treat you badly! ”

Zhao Hong said softly, Wang Shixian hurriedly took his sons, and kowtowed again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Get up. You brought the two sons here, you didn't come to ask for a reward, did you? ”

Zhao Hong made a joke and laughed.

These two teenagers, only eleven or twelve years old, Wang Shixian is thoughtful.

"Your Majesty, the minister has heard the name of Jinling Wutang for a long time, and knows that those who come out of it are the pillars of the country. The minister is brave, and wants the two dogs to go to Jinling to lecture on martial arts to hone themselves, and ask Your Majesty to be gracious! ”

Wang Shixian quickly had an idea and said respectfully.

"Wang Shixian, the two sons are young, wait until the end of the autumn and winter war, let them go to Jinling University Hall to study first, and then enter Jinling Lecture Hall for further study, what do you think?"

Where is this to let his son enter the Jinling Lecture Hall, it is clearly to reassure him and take his son as a hostage.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wang Shixian put his mind at ease and hurriedly saluted.

In the autumn and winter war, Zhao Hong came in person, and the Song army really came prepared. It also reassured him that he would no longer have to face the front of the Tatar army.

"Your Majesty, the two sons of General Cao Youwen are still the sons of General Yu Yu, and the three of them are about to travel to Jinling. It is better to let the two Wang Gongzi go to Jinling with them for a trip and come back when the war is over. ”

Dong Songchen played softly on the side.

Zhao Hong was slightly surprised, it seems that on the "public-funded tourism", Dong Songchen has pretended to be public again.

"Da Lang, Erlang, why don't you hurry up and thank you?"

Before Zhao Hong could speak, Wang Shixian had already urged urgently.

Cao Youwen and Yu Jue, who were both feudal officials, the favorite generals of the Song Emperor, held tens of thousands of troops. It must be beneficial for sons to travel with their sons-in-law and make acquaintances.

"Wang Shixian, don't rush the two children. It depends on whether they want to travel or not. ”

Zhao Hong got off the donkey and said softly.

Let these young people travel to Jinling, and the new environment may allow them to find the direction of life earlier.

"Your Majesty, I do!"

"Your Majesty, I do!"

Wang Zhongchen and Wang Dechen's faces turned red and they spoke out one after another.

Young people, who don't want to go out and play, and it's the rumored famous city of Jinling.

"Young people are the future of the country."

Zhao Hong nodded, and the forbidden army took Wang Shixian's sons down.

"Wang Shixian, I don't want to hold your sons hostage. In that case, you're underestimating me. I have this confidence. ”

Zhao Hong smiled slightly, and Wang Ba's qi leaked.

"I don't dare. Your Majesty's civil and martial arts, Your Majesty does not need to do this, and there is no need to do so. ”

Wang Shixian said with a smiling face.

"I like young people, and I can see in them the hope of the country. Therefore, I hope that they can all become talents, ten generations later, three or five generations, they can change this era and jointly establish a powerful Central Plains Dynasty. ”

Zhao Hong looked at the stunned Wang Shixian and patted him on the shoulder affectionately, which was also his habitual action.

"Wang Qing, since you have already been attached, I will not hide it from you. When you go back, you immediately clear the wall. Our northwestern frontier army will advance eastward later, and when the time comes, it will enter Shaanxi and seize the land of Shaanxi in one fell swoop. ”

Zhao Hongzheng said, Wang Shixian was shocked.

From this point of view, the Song army had already prepared to fight with the Mongol army in the northwest frontier.

"Wang Qing, the news of my arrival in Hanzhong, as well as the eastward march of the army, must not be leaked out, this is a secret in the army."

Zhao Hong told him seriously.

"Your Majesty, but please rest assured, the minister knows the priorities."

Wang Shixian said solemnly.

These major military events are child's play, and he naturally will not leak them to others.

If nothing else, he always had to care about the lives of his two sons.

However, Zhao Hong was so frank, which also made him inexplicably relieved. Those "countries", "hopes" and so on, his heart warmed up.

Emperor Qin and Han Wu, Tang Dynasty Song Zu, and Genghis Khan were not in his eyes, and this great Song Dynasty emperor made him impressed.

"Wang Qing, you go down and rest first, I have other things to deal with. In the evening, we will have dinner together, and you and I will talk about it in detail. ”

Zhao Hong said softly, and Wang Shixian hurriedly retreated.

"Dong Songchen, you are really clever. In the future, don't advocate these things, just say it bluntly. Could it be that I am a faint king, and oil and salt do not enter? ”

Zhao Hong straightened his face and told his favorite ministers.

"Your Majesty forgives your sins. Chen Longzhi and Chen Xianggong were worried that you would be soft-hearted, so he told the minions. The minion wanted to appease the hearts of the ministers, but he was also worried that Wang Shixian was a fake surrender, so he remembered to appease Wang Shixian with a proton. ”

Dong Songchen hurriedly knelt down and fell to the ground.

"Chen Longzhi, this guy is really ruthless! Get up, speak up in the future, and don't shy away from it! ”

Zhao Hong shook his head and continued to ask:

"Are the sons and daughters of those generals coming? Don't tell me that you're playing tricks, are you? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, it is true. In addition to Cao Youwen's son and Yu Jue's son, there are also the heirs of Wang Jian, Ma Zhong and others. The heirs of Lu Wende and Cao Youwan are too young to be invited. ”

Dong Songchen hurriedly reported the matter of "publicly-funded tourism" carefully.

"Good! In the northwest border, it is not easy for the generals. Since this is the case, let the sons and heirs of the generals and above, all of whom are of the right age, regardless of gender, arrange to travel to Jinling. Let the forbidden army protect it well, and take care of it all the way to eat, drink and have fun. If their family members want to accompany them, they will not refuse to come, and they will be warmly welcomed. ”

"Obey! Your Majesty! ”

Dong Songchen smiled and hurriedly accepted the order.

The emperor's horizons are much broader than his.

Zhao Hong paused, pondered for a moment, and then continued:

"Let Cui and Cao You hear them come in."